Wire-fabric machine.



No. 633,370. Patented Sept. l9, I899.

E. F. SHELLABERGEB.

WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

(Application filed. July 26, 1899) (No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet l,

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No. 633,370. Patented Sept. 19, I899. E. F. SHELLABERGER. WIRE FABRICMACHINE.

(Application filed July 26, 1899.)

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Patented Sept. l9, I899. E. F. SHELLABERGER.

WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

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No. 633,370. Patented Sept. I9, I899. E. F. SHELLABERGER.

WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

(Application filed July 26, 1899.) v (No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 5,

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No. 633,370. Patented Sept. l9,-l899.

- E. F. SHELLABERGER.

WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

Application filed July 28. 1899.)

(No Model.) 9 sheets sheet 6,

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Patented Sept. l9, I899. E. F. SHELLABERGER.

WIRE FABRIC MACHINE. [Application filed July 26, 1899.) (NolodeL) 9Sheets-Sheet 7.

No. 633,370. Patented Sept. [9, I899.

. E. F. SHELLABERGEB.

WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

Application filed July 26, 1899.) I (N0 Modem 9 Sheets-Sheet 8,

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M M HH UN STATES PATENT .OJFFIQB EDVARD F. SHELLABERGER, OF DE KALB,ILLINOIS.

WIRE-FABRIC MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,370, datedSeptember 19, 1899.

' Application filedJ'uly 26,1899. senate. 725,193. on model.)

To a wlwm, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. SHELLA- BERGER, of DeKalb, in the count-yof De Kalb and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in VVire- Weaving Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in wire-weaving machines,and is particularly adapted to the weaving of wire fences composed of aseries of longitudinal strands with which are interwoven transversestays or pickets.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of this kind havinga capacity for producing the fabric rapidly, the machine being soorganized that the transverse stays or pickets do not require anyshaping or forming previous to being fed into the machine.

The machine is adapted to the making of a fabric composed oflongitudinal cables, each formed of two wires twisted together withsingle-wire pickets or stays; but in a modified construction I showprovisions for making a fence fabric composed of longitudinal strands,some of which are cables and some single wires, with single-wirepicketsor stays connecting the series of strands transversely. A machinedesigned to weave a fence composed of longitudinal cables and transversestays or pickets, wherein the wire from which the pickets are formed isfed at intervals across and betweenthe strands of the cables and twiststherewith, is shown in Letters Patent No. 622,406 issued to me as assinee of Charles E. \Varner April .4, 1899. In the machine of that patentprovisions are shown for deflecting the picket-wire.between the strandwires or cables in order to provide the necessary slack for permittingthe formation of the loop or wrap of the strands around the cables. Myinvention is an improvement upon the machine of that patent in severalrespects, which will be made apparent inthe followingdescription, andthe features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved machine, except the reels andreel-holders for supplying the wire. Figs. 2 and 3 are opposite sideelevations of that part of the machine shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is apartial sectional elevation taken on the line .44 of .Fig.

1, particularly showing the picket-wire feed and three of the twisters.Fig. 5 is a detailed view, in cross-sectional elevation, taken at rightangles to the view shown in Fig. 4. Figs. (3, 7, and 8 are detailedviews of the twisterhcads. Figs. 9 and 10 are detailed views of thefabric particularly intended to show the twisted loops thereof. Fig. 11is a detailed view showing the knife for severing the picket or stay andits operating mechanism. Fig. 12 is a side elevation showing in detailthe cams and the mechanisms operated thereby in the formation of theloop. Fig. 13 is a side elevation of the rack-bar for rotating thetwister-heads and its driving mechanism; and Figs. 14 to 18, inclusive,are views showing a modified construction to adapt the machine to theweaving of a fabric wherein the pickets are interwoven with singlewirestrands or a combination of single-wire strands and cables.

The machine shown in the accompanying drawings and from which saiddrawings were made is adapted to weave fabrics of varying widths up tosixty-three inches and contains twelve twister-heads, each adapted tocarry two wires, which are cabled or twisted together, with provisionsfor regularly moving such wires, cabling them, feedingin the picket orstay wire, interweaving it at the points of intersect-ion, cutting offthe picket-wire, wrapping the severed ends around the marginal cables,straightening the body of the stay or picket between the loops, anddrawing out the finished fabric.

..'lhe operative parts are mounted upon the framework 20, which affordsa support for the boxes of the several shafts, of which 21 is thedriving-shaft geared to the counter-shaft 22, carrying a series ofgear-wheelsand cams for driving various operative mechanisms and thereel-shaft.

The drawings show the machine with the parts in the position they occupyduring the deflection of the picket-wires to provide the necessary slackfor the formation of the loops and just prior to the operation of thetwisters .to-form said loops.

elevation, its journals being marked and its driving-gear 36. Thetwister-heads being disposed in the same horizontal plane and with theirgears 36 in alinement, they are simultaneously driven by means of a rack37,

mounted upon a sliding bar 38. Endwise-reciprocating motion is impartedto this rackbar by the means shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 13, the rack-barhaving a downwardly-extending arm 39, to which is connected at pitman40, pivotally connected to a sliding cross-head 41 and carrying aperforated plate 42, which serves as a rack, centering-pins 43, andcurved segmental guides 44, all projecting transversely from the side ofthe cross-head. A gear-wheel is mounted with its teeth in line with theperforations of the rack-plate 42 on a shaft 46, provided with a slidingblock or box 47, moving in a guideway 48, the shaft having auniversal-joint or knuckle connection at its opposite end with a shortdrivingshaft 49, driven intermittently by the beveled pinion 50 andmutilated gear 51 on shaft 22. Obviously the rotation of the cam-shaft22 driving the shafts 49 and 46 intermittently will result in rotatingthe gear 45 in the direction of the arrow. The gear is provided with apin 45, which is shown in Fig. 13 in contact with the inner surface ofthe curved guide 44. The gear has two of its teeth cut away, and betweenthem is formed a depression orseat 45" for the centering-pin 43. \Vhenrotation is imparted to the gear 45, it will be caused by reason of thepins 43 and 45 to draw the cross-head 41 inward until the teeth of thegear engage the perforations on the under side of the rack-plate 42,thus imparting a stroke to the cross-head, which terminates as the gearreaches the corresponding position at the opposite end of the rack, whenit comes to rest. In the return movement the gear will travel upon theupper side of the rack-plate and cause the movement of the cross-headand therefore of the rack-bar 38 in the opposite direction.

Assuming now that the wires 26 and 29 are properly threaded through thetwister-head, the rotation of the twisters would result in twisting orcabling said wires together. In order to connect the cablestransversely, the pickets or stays are fed in from the side of themachine, as shown in Fig. 4. The picket-wire (marked 52) is drawn fromacoil or spool between the feed-rolls 53, driven by the gears 54, thepinion 55, idler 56, and driver 57, arranged in the usual manner, so asto give a fast or slow speed. The wire 52 is fed through the enlargedchambers 31 of the twisters, being guided thereto by the funnel-shapedguides 58, one of which is mounted upon the framework adjacent to eachtwister-head. The wire 52 in feeding in passes between the strandwires28 29 back of the crotch or point of crossing of the latter and isprojected entirely across the fabric and beyond the margin thereofsuificiently to provide for the amount of wire taken up in forming thetwisted loops. On a twenty-four-inch fabric composed of seven cables theloops take up from six to seven inches, depending upon the size of thewire. The wire 52 after being fed across between the strands of thecables, with its leading end projecting beyond the last cable, is heldin that position by the feed, the movement of which is arrested. Theintermittent feed is provided for by the employment of the mutilatedgear 59 on the cam-shaft 22, which drives intermittently the pinion 60on shaft 61, which carries the gear 57. The next operation consists indeflecting the body of the wire 52 between successive cables. In mymachine this deflection is in a horizontal plane or the plane of thefabric and in the direction of its travel. The deflect-ion isaccomplished by means of a series of vibrating levers 62, pivotedbetween their ends upon pivots 63 and carrying at their extremitiesadjustable blocks 64, provided with rollers 65. These rollers contactwith cams 66, the cams being mounted upon a shaft 67, driven from theshaft 22 by means of the mutilated gear 68 enmeshing pinion 69 on shaft70, having a beveled gear 71 driving a similar gear 72 on the shaft 67.One of these levers 62 is arranged to project into each of the spacesbetween the longitudinal strands of the fabric, and in the inactivepositions the upper end of the lever is back of the path of the picketor stay wire 52 as it feeds forward across the fabric. During suchposition the lean side of the cam 66 is presented opposite the roller65. The cams 66 are so disposed upon their shaft as to come into actionsuccessively, the cam on the feeding-in side of the machine being firstbrought into action. As the roller travels up the incline of the cam itslever moves forward, striking the wire 52 between the first pair ofcables and deflecting the body of said wire, which is yet unsevered andheld in the guide of the feeding mechanism. The body of the wire restingbetween the cables is drawn into the crotch of the second pair and thedeflected portion is held in that position until successive deflectionsare produced between each pair-of cables by the successive action of theseries of levers 62. The cams are so arranged as to all become inactiveat the same time, being successively shorter from the feed side of themachine. In order to prevent their sudden back Ward movement andyetallow them to yield while the loops are being formed, each of thelevers 62 is backed up by a spring 73. The

' of the twisters I employ a series of pivoted guides comprising a block74, carried by an arm 75, fixed on a rock-shaft 76, having anoperating-crank 77, which is vibrated by lever 78, provided with anantifriction-roller 79, which is engaged by cam 80 on the shaft 22. Thecam 80 is so positioned as to operate immediately after the fabric isdrawn forward and before the stay-Wire is fed in. The blocks arepositioned so as to cooperate with the funnels 58, the latter beingslotted on their front sides, as shown at 58, the blocks dropping downin front of said slots.

The cut-01f mechanism for the stay-wire is shown indetail in Fig. 11 andcomprises the fixed shearing-block 81, with which a knife 82 cooperates.The knife-bar is pivoted at 83, and its lower end has aretracting-spring 84 attached thereto which normally holds the upper endof the knife-bar against the stop 85, and pivoted lever 86 has one endthereof positioned to engage the lower end of the knife-bar,while itsopposite end is in the path of a pin or stud 87, mounted on one of thecam-disks 66. The position of the pin 87 determines the time of the out,which immediately precedes the twisting.

The pull-out mechanism may be of any desired construction; but I haveshown the mechanism for driving it arranged with particular reference tothe action of the twisters, which is an important consideration, as willbe hereinafter explained. As shown, the fabric is drawn out over theseries of drums 88 89 90 and thence carried back to the spooling-drum91. The series of drums 88 89 90 are geared together, and the drum 89carries a beveled gear 92, driven by apinion 93 on the shaft 94, havinga gear 95, which is intermittently driven by the mutilated gear 96 onthe shaft 22. With reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the toothparts of the mutilated gears 51 and 56 are so disposed that the gear 51,which drives the twisters, comes into action first, so as to form theloop in the stay-wire before the pull-out gear comes into action. Whenthe pull-out starts, the

twister is still in action, and the stay-wire' will continue to betwisted or wrapped around the cables until the crown of the loop passesbeyond or out of the jaws of the twister. In heavy wire it will not benecessary to give more than a half-twist to the base portions of theloop; but in light wire it would be preferable to give a complete wrapor twist of the stay-wire around the strand or cable wires. This mightbe done by making the jaws longer or by providing the gear 51 with moreteeth, so as to commence the twisting action farther in advance of thepull out. The spool or reel 9]., on which the fabric is wound intorolls, is driven by the belt 97, running from pulley 98 on shaft 22 overa pulley 99 on the reel-shaft. This belt is provided with a suitabletightener 100 and is intended to slip as the diameter of the rollincreases, so as to drive the reel slower.

In order to straighten out any kinks, deflections, or crooked portionsremaining in the stay or picket after the twisting operation ceases, Iemploy a straightening mechanism, which is clearly shown in Fig. 12. Aseries of blocks 101 are mounted on a bar 102, extended transverselyacross the machine, in front of the twisters, and carried by arms 103,secured with a rock-shaft 104, having a crank 105, which is moved by alever 106, having a roller 107, arranged in the path of a cam 108 on theshaft 22. The blocks 101 are shown in Fig. 12 below the plane of thefabric in order to permit the latter to feed forward, and as the camcomes into action it rocks the .shaft 104, throwing the blocks 101 intothe path of the wires, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

In order to arrest the cam 66 in proper position for each actuation, Ipreferably provide a flat-sided stop-block 109 on the shaft 67 andarrange to cooperate therewith a lever 110, carryingshoe 111, the leverbeing reciprocated by a cam 112, against which it is normally held incontact by the spring 113. The forward end of the lever 110 passesthrough the hanger 114. The cam 112 is so set with reference to theflat-sided block 109 that as the shaft 67 completes its revolutiontheflat side of the block and the fiat side of the shoe are brought intoface contact, thus holding the cams 66 in proper position, or ratherpreventing them from being carried beyond proper position by momentum orarrested before reaching proper position by inertia.

Describing now the complete operation of the machine and assuming thatthe strand- Wires have been threaded through the twisterheads andtwisted beyond the ends of the twisters, with the crotch of the lasttwist resting within the jaws and the stay-wire passed between thestrand-wires in each twister-head and projected beyond the last cable,thereupon the cam 66 next the feeding-in side of the machine comes intoaction and vibrates its lever 62, deflecting the said wire between thefirst pair of cables, followed by the action of the next cam and itslever, and successively deflecting portions of the. said wire across thefabric. The knife then acts and severs the stay from the wire, and thenall of the cams 66 simultaneously release, leaving the series of arms 62held in position by their springs 73 and maintaining the stay-wiresuitably defiected across the fabric. The twisters then begin theirrotation, forming the loops, and at the conclusion of the loopformatiou'the pull-out mechanism comes into action, drawing out thefabric while thetwisters are still So long as the loop of the fabric isrotating.

IIO

within the jaws of the twister the wrapping of the stay-wires around thestrand-wires continues. As soon as the loop passes beyond the grasp ofthe jaws the strand-wires simply twist upon each other, and the pullingout of the fabric and the twisting of the cablestrands proceedsimultaneously. As the fabric is drawn out the formation of the loops isintended to take up the slack and to straighten the deflected portionsof the stay-wires; but in order to give a better finish to the fabricthe stay-wire-straightening mechanism previously described comes intoaction at each forward movement of the fabric, the blocks 101 engaginganyforward deflections or bends in the stay-wire and the latter beingstraightened by the time the fabric comes to rest.

In Figs. 1st to 18, inclusive, I have shown additional mechanism wherebythe machine is adapted to the weaving of a fabric composed ofsingle-wire longitudinal strands and transverse stays. The twister ismodified by the omission of one of the longitudinal perforations, ifdesired, or it may have two perforations, one of them only carrying astrandwire. .Each twister is provided with a longitudinally-extendingchannel 115, leading to the slot 32 in front of the chamber 31. ithinthis channel is pivoted a finger 116, with its point adapted to bebrought into contact with the surface of the jaw 34 in front of thestay-wire 523, so as to prevent the latter from being drawn out throughthe slot by the action of the deflecting-levers. The finger 110 isformed with a rearwardly-projecting bent arm, the extremity of which hasoppositelyinclined portions 117 118, resting within acorrespondingly-formed slot 119 in a collar or sleeve 120, mounted torotate with the twister. The side of the latter may be flattened orprovided with a channel corresponding to the slot 119 in the collar. Anarm 121 has a pin engaging a groove 122 in the collar, and said armprojects rearwardly and is connected to a sliding bar 123, which isactuated by a lever 124, extending into bearing proximity to a cam 125,which may be on the shaft 22. In Fig. 16 the finger is shown depressedin front of the stay-wire, thus restraining it from forward movementduring the action of the deflecting-levers. The finger is moved to andheld in this position by means of the collar, which is pressed forwardby the action of the cam, which is so timed as to hold the finger downuntil the fabric is ready to pull out.

The forward movement of the fabric will rock the finger upon its pivot,and the inclines on the extremity of the arm will force the collarbackward and place the extremity of its controlling-lever in position tobe again engaged by the cam. By means of this addition to the mechanisma fabric composed of singlestrand wires and transverse stays may beproduced.

The machine of my present invention is particularly adapted to theeconomical production of a fabric for wire fencing-such as shown in myPatent No. (323,8i1, dated April 25, 1899, which illustrates the samefabric shown in the drawings, Figs. 9 and 10. This fabric isdistinguished by the fact that the stay-wires have loops extending at anangle to the body of the stay-wire and parallel to the cable,with thecrown of the loop embraced between the strands of the cable and the endportions of the loop being turned, respectively, over and under andembracing both strands of the cable, extending therefrom in oppositedirections to the adjacent cable. The construction would be essentiallythe same if a single-wire strand were used, except that the loop in thatcase would not be embraced between two strand-wires. In the \Varnerpatent, to which I have previously alluded, the fabric has loopsinterlocked with the strand-wires; but said loops lie in the plane ofthe stay-wire instead of being angularly disposed thereto. My machine isdistinguished from the said Varner machine not only in the particularconstruction of its twisters, but in the fact that it omits numerousparts necessary to the operation of said patented machine, such as theindependent jaws for clenching or setting the loops. In my machine thestay-wires are deflected in the plane of the fabric, and this is madepossible by reason of the peculiar construction of the twisters, whichenables the stay-wire to be deflected forwardly without withdrawing itfrom the loop-forming mechanism. In my construction also the last'twistof the cable remains within the grasp of the jaws and the looping isperformed not by the twisting of the cable-wires,as in the previousconstruc-v tion, but by the jaws of the twister.

I claim- 1. A twister for wire-weaving machines adapted to carry astrand-wire and having a transverse slot in its extremity atfordingjaws,separated to permit a stay-wire to be projected between them and adaptedwhen the twister is rotated to engage the stay-wire on opposite sides ofthe strand-wire to form a loop in the stay and interlock said loop withthe strand, substantially as described.

2. A twister for wire-Weaving machines adapted to carry a pair ofstrand-wires and having its extremity slotted to provide a pair of jawsseparated to permit a stay-Wire to be projected between them and adaptedwhen rotated to engage the stay-wire to form a loop in the stay andinterlock said loop with the strands, substantially as described.

8. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination, with means for feeding astay-wire across a series of strand-wires, of a series of twistershaving transversely-slotted ends affording jaws which engage the body ofthe stay-wire on opposite sides of the strands and by their rotationform loops therein and twist them about the strand-wires, substantiallyas described. a

4. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination, with means for feeding astay-wire across a series of strand-wires, of a series of twisterscarrying the strand-wires and having transversely-slotted ends affordingjaws which engage the body of the stay-wire on opposite sides of thestrands and by their rotation form loops therein and twist them aboutthe strand-wires, and means for deflecting the body of the stay-wirebetween adjacent strands, substantially as described.

5. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination, with a series of twistersfor carrying strand-wires, means for feeding a stay-wire transverselyacross the series of strand-wires and means for deflecting the body ofthe staywire between adjacent strand wires, said means comprising aseries of pivoted levers and earns for actuating said leverssuccessively, substantially as described.

6. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination, with a series of twistersfor carrying strand-wires, of means for feeding a stay-wire transverselyacross the series of strand-wires and means for deflecting the body ofthe staywire between adjacent strand-wires, said means comprising aseries of pivoted levers and cams for actuating said leverssuccessively, and springs for yieldingly holding said levers in contactwith the stay-wire after the cams become inactive, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination, with a series of twisterscarrying strand-wires, means for feeding and severing the stay-wire,levers for deflecting the staywire between the strands, cams foractuating said levers and a stop mechanism for arresting said cams inproper relation to the levers, substantially as described.

8. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination, with a series of twistersfor carrying stran d-Wires, of means for feeding a stay-wire across thestrands and interlocking it therewith, rack-gearing for rotating thetwisters, a pull-out mechanism and gearing for driving the same, thetwister-driving gear and the pull-out-driving gear being arranged insuch relation to each other that the pull-out begins before the twistingaction ceases, substantially as described.

9. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination with a series of twistersfor carrying strand-wires, said twisters having drivinggears, of asliding rack intermeshing said gears and means for sliding said rackcomprising a rack-plate connected thereto and a pinion for driving therack, the pinion having a movable bearing and guides whereby it iscaused to travel upon opposite sides of the plate during thereciprocations of the latter,

substantially as described.

10. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination with a series oftwisters, each adapted to carry strand-wire and having jaws for loopinga stay-wire and interlocking it with the strand-wires, means for feedingthe staywire between the jaws, means for deflecting the body of thestay-wire between the strands and means for holding the stay-wirebetween the deflected portions and within the grasp of the jaws,substantially as described.

11. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination with a series of twistersfor carrying strand-wires, of means for feeding a stay-wire across thebody of said strand-wires, means for deflecting the stay-wire in theplane of the fabric and means for straightening the deflected portions,comprising blocks pivotally mounted and adapted to be projected and heldin the path of the fabric as the latter is drawn out, substantially asdescribed.

12. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination with a series of twistersfor carrying strand-wires, each twister having its end transverselyslotted to provide jaws, means for projecting a stay-wire across thestrandwire between said jaws and slotted guides mounted adjacent to thejaws of each twister for guiding the end of the stay-wire, substantiallyas described.

13. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination with a series of twistersfor carrying strand wires, each twister having its end transverselyslotted to provide jaws, means for projecting a stay-wire across thestrand wire between said jaws and funnel-shaped guides mounted adjacentto said jaws and slotted on their forward sides to permit the fabric tobe drawn out, substantially as de scribed.

14. In a wire-weaving machine, the combination with a series of twistersfor carrying strand-wires, each twister having its end transverselyslotted to provide jaws, means for projecting a stay-wire across thestrand wire between said jaws, and funnel-shaped guides mounted adjacentto said jaws and slotted on their forward sides to permit the fabric tobe drawn out and movable blocks adapted to close the slots of the guidesdur-* ing the feeding in of the stay-wire, substantially as described.

EDWARD F. SHELLABERGER.

Witnesses:

G. C. LINTHIoUM, IRVINE MILLER.

